Two quotes are on the desk. One lists sliced beef ham as 12 × 500 g trays, the other lists the same item as 8 × 1250 g logs; one includes VAT, the other does not; one shows delivery on a separate line. The buyer cannot put the two case prices side by side and declare one cheaper. A case price comparison is done by taking every line down to the VAT-exclusive kilogram first and then to the portion.
Two quotes, two different cases: why can't they sit side by side?
A case is a trading unit, not a kitchen unit. The kitchen thinks in slices, portions and plates; a case is a shipping pack made up of units × pack weight. For the same product one supplier's case may hold 12 × 450 g trays and another's 6 × 1250 g logs. Their case prices represent different weights, different formats and different labour requirements.
That is why the comparison runs in three steps: case → VAT-exclusive kilogram → portion. Each step has a conversion formula, and all of them are below.
How do you get from the case price down to the price per kilogram?
Two formulas are enough:
- Net case weight (kg) = units per case × net pack weight (g) / 1000
- VAT-exclusive price per kilo = VAT-exclusive case price / net case weight
A worked example with the assumption stated: if Mortella Sliced Beef Pepperoni arrives in 450 g trays and the case holds 12, the net case weight is 12 × 450 / 1000 = 5.4 kg. Divide the VAT-exclusive case price on the quote by 5.4 and you have the price per kilo. The 200 g tray of the same product will come with a different unit count per case, and the price per kilo may differ between the two sizes because a smaller pack carries a higher packaging cost per unit.
VAT included or excluded: the first question on any quote line
If the quote form does not state the VAT position clearly, you ask; you do not guess. Place a VAT-inclusive quote next to a VAT-exclusive one and the apparently cheap option may be the expensive one. The buyer converts every line to VAT-exclusive and fills the comparison table with those values only. How VAT interacts with order frequency is covered separately in order frequency and minimum order value in food wholesale.
The second question is delivery: is it inside the case price, a separate line, or waived above a certain order? If there is a delivery charge it is added to the case price before dividing by weight. Otherwise the price per kilo looks lower than it really is.
How does the gap between net and gross weight distort the case calculation?
The net quantity on the label is the weight of the product without packaging, and Türkiye's Food Labelling and Consumer Information Regulation (yeni sekmede açılır) makes it a mandatory declaration on every pack. Gross weight includes the tray, the film, the vacuum pouch and the case carton. A buyer who divides the case price by gross weight calculates a lower price per kilo and unfairly favours whichever supplier has the larger gap between gross and net.
The rule is simple: the division is always done with the net weight on the label. The gross-to-net gap is larger for sliced product in trays than for logs, which makes sliced product the line where a gross-based table goes most wrong.
Price per slice for sliced packs, price per kilo for logs
Once prices per kilo are aligned, the decision is made at portion level, and here the two formats part company.
For a sliced pack the unit is the slice. Count the slices in a pack once; price per slice = VAT-exclusive pack price / slice count. If Altın Dana Sliced Beef Ham arrives in a 500 g tray, dividing 500 g by the slice count gives the slice weight and dividing the pack price by the same number gives the price per slice. Slice counts can vary from pack to pack, so counting three packs and averaging is safer.
For a log the unit is the kilogram, but two additions appear on the way to the portion: end-piece allowance and slicing labour. For Özlem Hungarian Salami 1250 g (Log), usable weight = 1250 × (1 − waste allowance); price per slice = price per kilo / 1000 × slice weight / (1 − waste allowance). The time of the person running the slicer and the cleaning of the machine sit outside that formula and are estimated on a separate line.
Case price comparison template (blank table)
| Column | Supplier A | Supplier B | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product and format (sliced / log / vacuum) | … | … | Quote |
| Net pack weight (g) | … | … | Label |
| Units per case | … | … | Quote |
| Net case weight (kg) | … | … | Units × weight / 1000 |
| Case price, VAT-exclusive | … | … | Quote (ask about VAT) |
| Delivery charge share | … | … | Quote |
| VAT-exclusive price per kg | … | … | (Case + delivery) / net kg |
| Slice count (sliced) or slice weight (log) | … | … | Count / weigh |
| Waste allowance (log) | … | … | Your own records |
| Price per slice | … | … | Formula above |
| Slices per portion | … | … | Menu standard |
| Portion cost | … | … | Price per slice × slice count |
| Shelf life remaining at delivery | … | … | Label date − delivery date |
Fill the template in the same order for every supplier; any cell left blank is a question to put to that supplier.
Getting down to portion cost: pepperoni, ham, sausage and salami
Four products, four different portion units:
- Sliced beef pepperoni: portion = slices per pizza (say 11). Portion cost = price per slice × 11.
- Sliced beef ham 500 g: portion = slices per sandwich (say 2). Portion cost = price per slice × 2.
- Mortella Smoked Frankfurter Sausage 465 g: portion = one sausage. Count the sausages in the pack; price per piece = pack price / count. It arrives cooked and vacuum-packed, so there is no labour line.
- Hungarian salami 1250 g log: portion = slices per breakfast plate (say 3). Slice weight is set by weighing; portion cost = price per slice × 3 + a share of slicing labour.
How portion cost connects to the menu price is explained in how to calculate restaurant menu cost; the table here is the input line of that calculation.
Which items get forgotten in a case comparison?
- Shelf life remaining at delivery: a 120-day product with 100 days left is a different case from the same product with 20 days left.
- Minimum order conditions: for a small business it is not the case price but the number of cases it is obliged to take that decides.
- Slicing labour and equipment: an addition on the log side that never shows in the price per kilo.
- Use-up time after opening: if a sliced tray must be finished on the day it is opened, the small size can work out cheaper than the large one.
- Returns and damaged case policy: what happens to a case that arrives with the cold chain broken is not written on the quote; it has to be asked.
The framework for judging a supplier on these items rather than price alone is in ten criteria for choosing a wholesale food supplier.
The list to prepare before requesting a quote
A request for quotation sent to a supplier should contain: product name and format, pack weight, required units per case, estimated monthly quantity, delivery address and cold chain expectation, a request for VAT-exclusive pricing, an explicit statement of delivery charges and minimum order conditions, and the minimum shelf life expected at delivery. Quotes that arrive against this list drop straight into the template above.
Use the same list when requesting a quote from EMKA FOOD; get in touch for samples and to open a trade account, and fill the blank cells of the template together.
